Friday, October 26, 2012

The Do Good Assassins - Rome

The Do Good Assassins – Rome
2012, The Do Good Assassins

Even in the
early days of his career, Ron Hawkins was lauded as one of the finest lyricists
Canada had to offer.His penchant for
super-imposing darkness and light in his songs won him a generation of fans, a
place in the Canadian Independent Music Awards Hall of Fame (as a member of
Lowest of the Low) and a hard core group of fiercely loyal fans.After flying mostly solo for a number of
years, Hawkins felt the call to work collaboratively again on new material.Thus was born The Do Good Assasins. With the help of Derrick Brady (Hawksley
Workman, Dodge Fiasco, Stifler’s Mom); Jesse Capon (Katey Morley, Big Rude
Jake, Emily Weedon); Alex McMaster (Rob Szabo, Lily Frost, A Northern Chorus)
and Steve Singh (Ron Sexsmith, Feist, Kiki Dee), Hawkins found a new vehicle
and outlet for his iconic songwriting.The Do Good Assassins’ debut album, Rome, drops on November 1, 2012 and
is a two-disc affair.The first disc is
a collection of ten rock and roll tunes that trade darkness and light.Set two is a countrified collection that
mixes and matches emotions and musical hues with some pretty amazing results.

The Do Good
Assassins get rolling with “Sadder Days”, sounding like a snap pre-punk outfit
from the early 1970’s.Rock and rhythm
and blues drive the band along here in an incredibly catchy and radio-ready
opener.Ron Hawkins and Steve Singh
trade vocal lines on “Fire Alarm”, a catchy mid-tempo number that’s reminiscent
of Hawkins’ Rusty Nails days.Ron
Hawkins has long been one of the finest lyricists Canada has produced, and that
fact is reaffirmed on “Public Transit”.Opening with the line “Well it’s not so lonely to be all alone in a city
of kisses and tells”, Hawkins explores the dichotomy of loneliness and
closeness in a city where people are never far away but no one is truly
close.It’s an amazing piece of
songwriting for anyone who has ever lived in a large city.

“Propellers”
is a list song that explores the push/pull of love through widely ranging and
sometimes diffuse analogies.Hawkins’
voice brings a timely sense of melancholy to the proceedings in what ultimately
ends up being a song of aching need.This is a moment both tragic and beautiful; plaintive in presentation
but with tremendous emotional depths.“N.Y.C. vs. Jeffrey Brown” is a Steve Singh tune that’s amazingly catchy
tune with distinctively 1970’s accents.Singh
takes the mic this time out and rocks out with undertones of funk and
soul.Don’t expect to sit still through
this tune; I don’t think it’s possible.The musical tour continues on “The Last Casanova In Town”, which has a
decidedly retro feel and a catchy melody that you simply can’t get out of your
head.Once again, don’t expect to sit
still.

Classic Ron
Hawkins songwriting is on display in “A Spy In The 9 To 5”, a song about those
artistic souls who masquerade their way through the days so they can live in
the night. Urgent, good time rock and
roll takes over for “Wrap You Up (And Take You Home)”.You’ll dance your ass off in this song of
dance floor-born obsession, helped along by the guitar and horn-driven
arrangement.The energy stays high for “Home Sweet Home”, a high strung rhythm and
blues driven rocker about friends who have fallen by life’s wayside; lonely
souls who met early ends.Hawkins wraps
this up with a classic couplet: “It takes a village to raise a child, it takes
a city to bury it alive.”The rock
portion of Rome closes out with a
life reflection for someone born in the era of JFK.“Bobby Was The D.A.” continues the trend of
incredibly catchy rock and roll with a retro feel, while exploring the
insecurities of the Baby Boom generation.

Disc two of
Rome, the County Disc, finds Hawkins expanding on the country sound he has been
developing over his past two albums. “Capistrano” is a beautiful song of free
spirited love and exploration. It’s a sweet and upbeat love song, more the
surprising for Hawkins’ frequent brushes with darkness and loss over the years
in his songwriting. Alex McMaster gets a brief vocal cameo here and shows off a
surprisingly rich and adept country voice. “Too Far” bears the instrumental
marks of a country tune, but is more of a down-tempo pop/rock number. It’s well
written, but the country connection is tenuous at best, with the guitar work
sounding more like something you’d find on a Lowest of the Low album.

"Swing Low" is a ballad full if melancholy reflections. The Do Good
Assassins find the beauty in a series of small personal tragedies, divining it
in an incredibly nuanced arrangement around Ron Hawkins' affecting vocal line.
Steve Singh once again takes the mic for "In The Chest Of The Land",
a pragmatic and complex folk number that reflects optimism and hope. "Spotlight" is an expression of frustration that one conception of
the good life is not as brilliant as it might seem. The abject melancholy here
is powerful, and Hawkins nails the moment with a stellar performance.
"Rusty Chain" is a driven little country rocker about live gone sour,
revenge and penance. This is classic stuff, replete with hooks and a lyrical
flow that pulls you along. You won't be able to get this one out if your head.

The Do Good Assassins slow things down for the lonely beauty of "A Little
Rain", while exploring the sometimes inevitable curves life throws our
way. Mournful pedal steel serves as a co-vocal for Hawkins' rough hewn lead. "Us
Eat Them" is a vibrant ad viral rocker dressed in country clothes that
will get your feet moving. "Little Volcano" is a love song wrought
from the darkness of personal reflection. Hawkins finds beauty in the mundane
details here, creating the sort of poetry for which he has become renowned; even
the minimalist arrangement ads to the milieu. The album winds down with the
lonely strains of "Rome", detailing the tendency of life and love to
decay. Hawkins once again finds beauty in heartache, scratching out one of the
finest prices of songwriting he has done.

Wow.

In this
highly digital age it is often the case that the concept of an album as a body
of work is irrelevant.The Do Good
Assassins apparently have not forgotten what it’s like to live with a song
cycle from end to end.The fact that Rome essentially encompasses two complete,
distinct and incredibly well done song cycles is mind-blowing.Ron Hawkins’ songwriting is as stark and
beautiful as ever it was.Steve Singh
brings a brighter songwriting dynamic that serves as a very capable, if
occasional balance.The overall musicianship
here is thrilling to a music fan.Nothing is overdone; nothing left unsaid.Rome has
an organic and complete feel that is so often lacking in music today.This is a must have for any music fan, and a
Wildy’s World Certified Desert Island Disc.This Do Good Assassins will hook you on the first pass and continue to
grow on you.

Rating: 5 Stars (Out of 5)

The Do Good Assassins will be performing a series of album release shows for album during the month of November throughout Ontario and here in Buffalo, NY. 11/01/12 - The Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto, ON11/02/12 - Mohawk Place, Buffalo, NY11/03/12 - Mohawk Place, Buffalo, NY11/09/12 - The Grad Club, Kingston, ON11/10/12 - The Elmdale House Tavern, Ottawa, ON11/16/12 - Murphy's Pub - Oshawa, ON11/17/12 - The Merchant Ale House - St. Catherines, ONLearn more:www.ronhawkins.comwww.stevesingh.ca